From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Family of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has alerted the United Kingdom insisting that allowing its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to die in detention in Nigeria will be an utmost shame to their nation.
Spokesperson for the family and younger brother to the detained pro Biafra group leader, Emmanuel Kanu in a statement he released to journalists on Sunday accused British government of not protecting the rights of one of its own, Kanu during his rendition from Kenya and continued trial in Nigeria.
His statement read in parts “With hearts burdened by sorrow, we, the family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, issue this solemn declaration to the world. We do so not only in defense of our beloved brother, father and uncle, but in defense of truth, justice, and the sacred memory of the over 5 million Biafrans slaughtered during Britain’s orchestrated genocide from 1967 to 1970. The United Kingdom has never stopped killing Biafrans. Only the methods have changed.
“Today, the same British Government that armed Nigeria to starve Biafran children to death now stands accused of a far more cowardly crime the silent orchestration and diplomatic shielding of an illegal rendition, torture, and political show trial of a British citizen for exercising freedoms guaranteed under British law.
“Let the world take note: Were Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to die in the custody of the Nigerian government, it would be to the eternal shame and blood-drenched legacy of the United Kingdom.
Kanu who accused Uk government of betraying his elder brother also recalled
“In June 2021, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a lawful British citizen and leader of a peaceful self-determination movement IPOB, registered under UK law was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, subjected to extraordinary rendition without due process, and illegally transferred to Nigeria by operatives whose trail the British authorities have deliberately ignored.
“This transnational crime was carried out in clear violation of Kenyan and international law. Yet Britain said nothing. Worse still, their silence gave Nigeria the license to act with impunity.
“Why was the British High Commission in Nairobi inactive while a British citizen was drugged, tortured, and flown out in chains? Why was the UK Foreign Office complicit in turning a blind eye to this abduction that violated every known treaty obligation under international human rights and consular law?
“The answer is now painfully clear: Britain was not merely a bystander. Britain was a co-conspirator.
“Following his illegal rendition, the UK Government pretended to be engaged. British Consular officials visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in DSS custody in Abuja. He asked one simple question:
“Why is the United Kingdom allowing a British citizen to be tried for broadcasts made in the UK, where both IPOB and Radio Biafra are lawful entities?”
“The response was both evasive and insidious: “We’ll get back to you.” But they never did.
“Instead, within four days of that meeting, Nigeria’s then-Attorney General Abubakar Malami quietly amended the charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, removing ‘London, United Kingdom’ as the alleged location of the offences.
“The only logical inference is that the British authorities either advised Nigeria to do this or consented to a cover-up to evade the UK’s own jurisdictional responsibilities”. Kanu claimed.
Emphasising more on British government alleged silence on his brother’s ordeal Kanu said “Despite IPOB’s legal status in the UK and the total absence of any UK court order outlawing its activities, the British Government has continually refused to challenge the unlawful prosecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Nigeria.
“Why? Because they know what every international legal scholar knows:
That the alleged offences occurred outside Nigerian territory, that the primary jurisdiction lies in the UK, not Nigeria, that the rendition violated the UK’s own Extradition Act, the Commonwealth Mutual Assistance Treaty, and all norms of international law.
“Yet, when the question was asked of the British Foreign Office Why won’t you demand that your own citizen be returned to either the UK or Kenya, where he was abducted? they offered the most cowardly response imaginable:”We cannot interfere in a Nigerian trial.”
“This is not just false. It is a betrayal. The UK Government has, in fact, interfered constantly by suppressing evidence, shielding Nigerian impunity, and erasing its own culpability from the chain of events that led to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing ordeal.
Similarly, Kanu has accused the British government of being obsessed with Biafra. He said “In 1968, they supplied the arms that killed Biafran children.
In 2021, they supplied the silence that allowed their citizen to be kidnapped and tortured. What exactly did the Igbo people do to Britain to deserve this generational hatred?
“Is it our resilience, our enterprise, or our refusal to bow to colonial structures masquerading as post-colonial governments? Why is it that every time an Igbo leader rises to speak truth to power, Britain rushes to undermine him?
“It is time for the world to know: Britain’s hatred for the Igbo people has outlived colonialism. What they could not achieve with bombs and starvation in 1967, they now pursue through legal manipulation, judicial collusion, and geopolitical deceit.
The time to speak is now, this statement is not made in anger. It is made in defiance.
“We defy the centuries of British deception in Africa.
We defy the silence that enables crimes against our people. And we defy the notion that a British citizen can be abducted, tortured, and tried abroad without the UK lifting a finger.
“If Britain cannot protect its own citizen, then it should admit publicly that some British citizens are more equal than others. Let the world judge”. He said.
However listing its demand to the Uk government Kanu said “Publicly accept responsibility for your complicity in the illegal rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, immediately demand his return to either Kenya or the United Kingdom, cease all diplomatic and legal support that sustains this illegal trial in Nigeria.
“Initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the roles played by the British High Commissions in Nairobi and Abuja in this scandal. Tell the truth, why is Britain so obsessed with silencing Biafra?
“If anything happens to our brother, the Kanu Family will hold the United Kingdom responsible. Not because they failed to act but because they chose to act on the side of evil. Their silence is not neutrality. It is an endorsement of tyranny.
“Let the earth tremble with this truth. Let history record our warning. Let justice not be buried under diplomatic hypocrisy”. Kanu’s statement concludes.
